Russell Wilson reached out to Kenny Pickett after deciding on Pittsburgh: 'Texted him right away'

The Steelers introduced Russell Wilson, Friday, as the team’s newest quarterback. Then Wilson talked about how one of his first calls was to Kenny Pickett, the starter for the past two seasons.

Then sometime after Wilson’s first press conference, the Steelers traded Pickett to the Eagles. Pickett got to stay in state, yet swap conferences. Reports indicated that Pickett initially agreed to stay with the Steelers and compete with Wilson. Yet he changed his mind once Wilson arrived, officially, in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the Steelers and Eagles swapped spots in the third round, with the Eagles receiving a seventh round pick next year.

Here’s what Wilson had to say, pre trade, when he talked how both he and Pickett belonged to a special club.

“As soon as I made the decision to come here, I texted Kenny and got to talk to him a little bit and told him, ‘Hey, every day we go out there, let’s be the best version of ourselves and try to make this team better,'” Wilson told reporters. “So that was cool. I just texted him right away. For me, the thing about being a quarterback in this National Football League, there’s 32 teams, there’s 32 quarterbacks that get to start, but there’s all these guys that get to do all the work together and on the journey. It’s a quarterback club. The best part about it is I’ve been fortunate to be a part of it for my 13th year. I want to continue that as long as I possibly can.”

No doubt, Pickett did not like being supplanted by Wilson. The Steelers selected him in the first round two years ago. Pickett also starred at Pitt, so he hasn’t known much outside the Steel City.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are getting a steal with Wilson. The Broncos are on the hook for $38 million after releasing Wilson. So Pittsburgh needs only to pay him $1.21 million, which is the NFL veteran minimum.

Wilson said Friday that he believes he can play for up to seven more years. This fall will be his 13th season. And he turns 36 in November. He started his career in Seattle, leading the Seahawks to the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons. He won only 11 games in Denver. In Pittsburgh, he said he saw a chance to get back to a win team capable of winning.

The new Steelers quarterback said he talked to several teams before he signed. We know one of those squads was the New York Giants. But it is not clear which other teams inquired about signing him.

“This is the place that I wanted to be,” Wilson said. “Being a Pittsburgh Steeler and to wear the black and gold, it’s a true honor, it’s tradition, it’s history. There’s six trophies in there and we’ve got to go get a seventh.”

And he said he never received a guarantee from the Steelers that he would be the starter. Now, it has fallen into his lap.

“Every day you wake up, you look forward to helping the team win,” Wilson said. “I think that’s just honestly my focus right now. I’ve been fortunate to be in this league for a long time and had a lot of success and done some cool things, but there’s more to do. And that’s where my head’s at.”